A short film directed by South African director Michael Matthews has won the prestigious Short of the Week -- and it's got some tongues wagging. Based on Charlie Human's urban-fantasy novel Apocalypse Now Now, the short serves as proof-of-concept for an upcoming feature film written by District 9 writer Terri Tatchell. It tells of Capetonian schoolboy/porn-dealer Baxter Zevcenko whose dream girl Esme is kidnapped, ostensibly by supernatural forces. Enlisting the help of "Cape Town's finest, drunkest bounty hunter", he embarks on a mission to fight some monsters and get her back. The public release of the proof-of-concept short, Tatchell told The Verge, is to bring in good feedback from...
Do you know that ants with big heads are soldiers and that smaller ants are voyagers? Eight-year-old Aiden the Zoologist does, and he's ready to share even more of his animal knowledge with the world. Aiden wowed Twitter last month when he passionately explained the wonders of tree bark and beetles to his older sister -- and now he's got his own YouTube channel to show us all what it's like to be young and curious and so damn smart. My brother is an animal genius and wanted me to share it w you guys. He titles this: Trees danger and other...
If you're into film and TV but don't have the time to sit down and watch as much as you would like, then you, like me, are probably a trailer fan. There's no shame in sitting down for half an hour and watching everything YouTube recommends for you, and you can be validated in the fact that others agree with you. In fact, some agree so vehemently that they created an awards ceremony purely for trailers, and on Tuesday night the Golden Trailer Awards hosted its 18th annual ceremony. The Awards includes a staggering 115 categories -- including the likes of...
Facebook has signed a deal with entertainment creators Vox Media, BuzzFeed, ATTN, Group Nine Media and others to create original video content for the platform, and is paying willing to pay up. The deal will bring scripted and unscripted content to the platform, in a bid to compete with premium content creators like YouTube Red and Snap. The scripted shows are intended to last between 20 and 30 minutes (and will include ad breaks), while the unscripted shows will average between five and ten minutes. According to Reuters, Facebook will pay up to US$250 000 for the scripted shows, which will also grant it full ownership...
As smartphones become more complicated, manufacturers are finding novel ways to educate their consumers. Apple's new video campaign does just that, shedding light on some of the basic ways to shoot with an iPhone 7. But there's something particularly noticeable about some of these videos. Especially for South Africans. Available to view on Apple's official site and on YouTube, the video series showcases a few landmarks that Cape Town residents would instantly recognise. One is undeniably Table Mountain, looking across from Lion's Head. Another is of Muizenberg Beach's famous colourful changing huts. While those two are definitely filmed on South African soil, we...
Like Lion's Head at sunset or Camps Bay on a Saturday, Cape Town's largest dam, the Theewaterskloof, is seemingly the new hottest spot in the city for vloggers. We've covered a fair few vlogs and clips from YouTube and Instagram documenting the state of Cape Town's drought. And thanks to hot, dry weather we've been experiencing recent months, each video is seemingly more dire than the next. Self-proclaimed "wannabe vlogger" Adam Spires is the latest to take a walk alongside the dam, reminiscing with his viewers about his years spent jumping into its now mostly evaporated lake. The City of Cape Town...
YouTube, seemingly reinvigorated by its website's visual refresh and the ridiculous advertising potential of its platform, has announced a slew of "exclusive" shows with pop culture's top brass. "We’re thrilled to announce that beginning later this year, some of the biggest YouTube creators and Hollywood names will be featured in seven new series on YouTube -- bringing more can't-get-enough-of and can't-find-anywhere-else shows to everyone, everywhere," explains Robert Kyncl, YouTube's chief business officer. The company's planning an initial run of seven series, starring cultural superstars, people you might've heard of, or Katy Perry. Ellen DeGeneres will host a "twice-a-week series built just for...
The sweet smell of rivalry is in the air, so grab your popcorn and slide into the hell that is the YouTube comments section, because this week has brought with it some strong opinions. On today's menu: a DC trailer that takes digs at the Trump-supporting Marvel CEO, another Asian character whitewashed with a mediocre actor, slow motion boobs and a potentially exploitative documentary on a murdered 6-year-old. Take your pick. Justice League Let's just get straight to this week's most anticipated trailer: DC's first for Justice League that is determined to remind superhero lovers that they may have the most Razzies, but at least...
Last week was all about fears and tears in the world of upcoming movies, from heart-wrenching animations to possessed children to soldier dogs. This week's film industry motto: no viewer left feeling joy. Here's a round up of all the best and worst trailers that were released in the last seven days. It's time to get emotional. Coco Coco is Disney and Pixar's response to The Book of Life and it basically guarantees a sob fest. "Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning...
I'm not sure how many more articles I can kick off with the words "Cape Town's in the midst of a water crisis", but I think I can squeeze it one last time. Cape Town is in the midst of a water crisis. Dams are drying up, and there's no genuine winter rainfall forecast until mid-July -- much later than what the region is used to. And with our reservoirs languishing at the low 30% full mark, everyone is about to get a lot thirstier . But numbers don't tell the real story. Cape Town vlogger Dean Tucker (better known...
We've all had those days. You wake up late, your toast is burnt, your boss is angry and two hours into the work day your anxiety is through the roof. Luckily for humankind, scientists have discovered a bad day antidote. No longer does a bad morning mean a bad afternoon. There exists on the internet multiple live streams of any kind of animal you fancy living its daily life and you can watch them whenever you want. Two minutes watching one of these, and your day is turned around. Here are my favourites. Keeping up with the Kattarshians These kittens live in a beautiful mini-house designed just...
Viewers across South Africa endured what is quickly becoming an annual (yet dramatic) farce in the form of last night's #SONA2017 State of the Nation Address. From a heavy security presence by the ruling party to the EFF's hectoring of President Jacob Zuma, things only went downhill from there. The low point of the night was marked by the EFF's removal from the chamber, making for shocking scenes on television. But, believe it or not, this sort of violence takes place around the world as well -- we look at a few notable videos. Also, be sure to find the bulk...
A self-proclaimed "band of visual creators and storytellers" have taken it upon themselves to tell the story of abandoned buildings and spaces in Hong Kong. HK Urbex is a group of urban explorers who seek to show a side to the densely populated territory that many don't realise exist. "The contrast is surreal," Ghost -- a pseudonym -- tells CNN. He's describing the disparity between an abandoned hospital and the non-stop financial district of Hong Kong. An anonymous member describes in a TedX talk how they were inspired by gaming. "Growing up in the nineties," he says, "I was a huge fan of...
When you think about his utterances and tweets, US president-elect Donald Trump really does seem like a sort of super-villain. It's an observation that wasn't lost on writer and actor Matt Oswalt, who urged Mark Hamill to put on his best Joker impression and read a Donald Trump tweet. The result is a rather maniacal and nefarious soundbite posted to the voice actor's Twitter account. Now, if we could get a weekly series of Hamill's Joker reading Trump tweets, I'd be so happy. The Trumpster quote #1#ANewJeersToast https://t.co/qZQEGU18r6 — Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) January 8, 2017
If you thought you were having a bad Monday, consider Mark the rhino. Likely minding his business doing things rhinos traditionally do on the weekend, Mark somehow got his snout snagged in a car tyre. Images and videos of the unfortunate herbivore were published on Facebook by the Aware Trust Zimbabwe page and quickly gained momentum across the internet. At the time of writing, the video has garnered over 3700 views, with just under 200 reactions and 80 shares. "At first rangers thought he'd be able to dislodge it himself but as he continued to thrash around in frustration it became apparent...
Lifetime Oscar Pistorius movie ‘horrifies’ Steenkamp family and South Africa
Cape Town dams: Theewaterskloof deals a blow as water usage remains high
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